Supercars: Whincup wins two at a tense Townsville

August 30, 2020 August 30, 2020

Travelling from the Northern Territory, Supercars arrived in Queensland for a third consecutive weekend of racing.

The NTI Townsville SuperSprint hosted three events across the round, with a second instalment scheduled in a week’s time.

Scott McLaughlin entered having extended his championship lead in Darwin; rivals Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen, however, struggled to match the Kiwi’s pace.

Race 19

Whincup landed the first punch in qualifying, nailing pole position in Saturday’s session. Come the race, the Red Bull campaigner maintained position coming into Townsville’s notorious Turn 2, which lived up to its reputation down the pack.

At the breaking zone, Lee Holdsworth appeared to hit Mark Winterbottom from behind, who in turn hit van Gisbergen, ultimately spinning Anton De Pasquale into the middle of the track. Many cars retired with damage on the spot, with the BJR and Kelly Racing V8s suffering worst.

McLaughlin, who started near the back due to a mistake in qualifying, managed to avoid the carnage, and slid through to P8 on the opening lap. Nevertheless, title-challenger Whincup kept his position throughout, and claimed another win in Townsville’s streets.

Meanwhile, Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds enjoyed a plethora of battles for the other podium spots – Waters emerged on top having pitted last, with Reynolds overtaken at the death by a fast charging Fabian Coulthard, who also pitted late.

After the race, Whincup said:

“[I’m] happy with the win, the car was excellent. We used three tyres, I think most maybe only used two but we needed the win.”

Race 19’s Top 10:

Jamie Whincup (H)*
Cam Waters (F)
Chaz Mostert (H)
Fabian Coulthard (F)
David Reynolds (H)
James Courtney (F)
Scott McLaughlin (F)
Bryce Fullwood (H)
Scott Pye (H)
Anton De Pasquale (H)

*Note – “H” indicates Holden, “F” indicates Ford.

Race 20

Whincup placed his Commodore on pole for successive races, and converted the position to another comfortable win in Sunday’s opener. He outsmarted Mostert when the lights went out, and forced a seven second gap between the pair when pitting for new rubber on lap 22 of 39.

Mostert did in fact drop behind James Courtney and Waters after his tyre change, but fought his way back up to P2 when the chequered flag emerged. Behind, SVG denied Waters of a podium finish, overtaking him with fresher rubber with seven laps to spare.

Championship leader McLaughlin once more struggled in qualifying, and started the race lowly in 13th – with the weekend’s earlier shunt fresh in his mind, the Kiwi drove defensively, and was demoted to 15th by the end of lap 1. However, an early pit-stop placed him nicely in clean air, and McLaughlin climbed to P6, displacing a hobbling Courtney.

Race-winner Whincup said:

“I got a good start and a good battle with Chaz down into Turn 2 and from there the car was excellent. We don’t normally go long [on strategy], we normally come pretty short but it was great to be able to go long and have some good tyres for the end there.”

Race 20’s Top 10:

Jamie Whincup (H)
Chaz Mostert (H)
Shane van Gisbergen (H)
Cam Waters (F)
Nick Percat (H)
Scott McLaughlin (F)
James Courtney (F)
Anton De Pasquale (H)
Scott Pye (H)
David Reynolds (H)

Race 21

McLaughlin rediscovered his commanding qualifying speed for the final race of the weekend, sharing the front-row honours with Ford compatriot Waters. A sluggish getaway from the latter allowed McLaughlin to lead the race, but sustained pressure behind kept the Shell V-Power racer honest throughout.

Having recovered from the slow start, Waters regained P2 from Nick Percat a lap later, and asked questions of McLaughlin multiple times. It looked as if Waters would deny McLaughlin a win for the weekend, but with rapidly degrading tyres after changing rubber, the order remained.

Down the road, Whincup made it three podiums from three races, over-cutting an impressive Percat on lap 25. The Red Bull Commodore also narrowed the gap to Water’s Monster Mustang significantly, but the flag was waved before Whincup could mount a serious challenge.

Race-winner Scott McLaughlin said:

“It was an awesome battle with Cam, he was fast. I’m proud of everyone at Shell V-Power Racing for continually working hard and to get a win on a tough weekend is a great thing.”

Race 21’s Top 10:

Scott McLaughlin (F)
Cam Waters (F)
Jamie Whincup (H)
Nick Percat (H)
Todd Hazelwood (H)
Scott Pye (H)
Anton De Pasquale (H)
Shane van Gisbergen (H)
Lee Holdsworth (F)
Mark Winterbottom (H)

Weekend Analysis

I think it is fair to say that a championship battle is still well and truly on the table. Just a week after Scott McLaughlin bagged the triple at Darwin, I didn’t think it would be possible. However, Whincup has now made it 12 wins from 23 starts at Townsville, which is a ridiculous statistic. With another round in the Queensland city next weekend, expect the gap to close even further.

I just wish the rest of the field were closer to the two main men. Theoretically, Shane van Gisbergen has the ability to be included in a ‘top 3’, but the mechanical gremlins experienced way back in the Adelaide opener have pretty much dictated his year – the 2016 champion needs to rediscover his winning form.

My final remark will be about Whincup’s fine for the first race’s conclusion. Despite a faulty team radio and clumsy chequered flag operator, the Red Bull driver was still penalised for parking his car on the main straight, not the pit-lane. Supercars need to give their set of rules the once over, because they have been all over the place the past couple of weeks.

Championship Standings: